Feminism in the school community.

Thursday 8th march 2018. On this day the world raised awareness about the issues that surround gender inequality, looked at how far we have progressed since the 20th century and what we can do to further this progression and create equality of the sexes for future generations.

This month, I decided to look into the subject of feminism and how it is intertwined within our school community.

Instead of trying to interview people for this report I realised that I would be able to get a wider variety of responses with more ease by handing out questionnaires to both students and teachers, especially since we all have busy, hard to adapt schedules. By doing this, I discovered that almost everyone that answered the questionnaire decided that they would identify as feminists and were passionate about their beliefs.

For any readers that may not know, feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of equality of the sexes.”

As we are all aware, the campaign for women to gain possession of equal rights has been an on-going fight for over a century, with the first major break-through in 1918 when the suffragettes won women the right to vote after the First World War. From then on, women all around the world have stood up for what they believe in and have opened the eyes of others to join the campaign that fights this injustice. Some well-known feminists that fight for the rights of not only themselves but the rest of the world’s females too are Malala Yousafzai and Emma Watson. These women publically strive for worldwide progress and shine light on the subject, using their well-known statuses to change the world for good.

In any school it is very important for students to learn about the issues around the world and it is obvious that feminism is a rather prominent topic that has been around for a very long time. Clearly it could be argued that school should teach children subjects such as maths, English, science, modern foreign languages and technology. But what use are any of these subjects to students if they cant even understand their rights in the work place or how they will be judged and treated based upon something as simple as their gender? How can they learn about the world issues that they may want to change if they are not addressed safely in school?

A lot of the students that I questioned believed that the subject of feminism is regularly addressed in their lessons and incorporated into their school lives. One student, Ursula, said, “ I agree with this happening as it is necessary to learn about this.” It was also said by someone who would like to remain anonymous “ It is important for us to know about the discrimination and stereotypes that both genders’ face.”

By talking to these people in the school community, I also discovered a lot of the events that happen to promote and raise awareness of feminism. Some of these are:

-Assemblies

-International women’s day conferences

-Day of the Girl Child

-Feminism club

-PSHE and pastoral curriculum

-Workshops

In addition to this, speaking to teachers gave me a new outlook on how they perceive and address feminism in the school community. Miss Clarkson (PE Teacher/ Leader for student leadership) expressed that she believes “ It is important that all students view themselves as equal”. Ms Mand (Senior Vice Principle) said that “ It is important for young people to know what the world is like- the positives so they have role models and the negatives too so that they are aware of challenges they may face”.

It is also important to explore how the issue is addressed during lessons and I considered this by asking Ms Roberts (English Teacher/ Lead Practitioner High Achievement) about her strategy of attacking gender inequality. She revealed that “ We discuss attitudes to gender within the texts we study frequently” and “Working in a girls’ school I rarely encounter much disagreement.” (With feminist beliefs). Erika Podmore (Principle) told me that she “Takes every opportunity as a history teacher to encourage students to reflect on the role of women at different points throughout history and to recognise change and continuity.” She also indicated that “Some people may argue women have ‘equality’ now so it is not necessary- I would say look carefully at the facts. They speak for themselves.”

Now it is evident that Eltham Hill School is a huge advocate for the promotion of not only gender equality but equality for all in every walk of life and is a “Safe place for young people to explore their views and opinions.” Eltham Hill is still “Educating the women of tomorrow.”

Ellie Gray- Eltham Hill School.